Jeremy Forrest: What his victim wrote to the sleazy teacher’s parents
JEREMY Forrest, the teacher jailed for abducting and having sex with a 15-year-old pupil continues to make news.
The Sun leads with: “I want to wed jailed teacher.”
Dad: I’ll walk her down the aisle
THE girl abducted by teacher Jeremy Forrest has vowed to marry him when he is freed. Her dad said she would wait for Forrest, below, to be released from his 5½-year jail sentence. He added: “I’d be proud to walk her down the aisle.”
The girl is now 16, so legally able to marry.
Says the girl’s dad:
“My daughter had a very unsettled family life when she was growing up. It would be a dream for her to settle down and marry the man she loves. She would want to do it all properly.”
That would be Forrest, who married the woman he loved and then cheated on her with one of his underage pupils? Surely he will give his second wife the security she craves. The dad adds:
“I’d be proud to walk my daughter down the aisle with the man she loves. I honestly believe he loves my daughter and she’s besotted with him. She has made it clear she wants a future with him. Hopefully with good behaviour he may be freed on parole after a few years. If they have a future together that’s fine by me and they would have my blessing. I should hate him for what he’s done but I don’t — in fact, I’d like to meet him. I’d like to visit him in prison, shake his hand and say, ‘Thanks for looking after my daughter’. I would be nice to him.”
Why does the dad tell this to the papers? Is he trying to get in with his daughter, now estranged from her mother? We can only guess. But it’s the chance for reader reaction that makes this story entertaining. We all love to talk about bad parenting.
The dad adds:
“He never hurt or harmed my daughter and he didn’t take her away against her will. Yes, they had a physical relationship but she was sensible and mature enough to agree to that.”
The law says otherwise. Forrest has bene handed a five-year sentence for his crimes.
“They formed a friendship, which turned into a loving relationship, at a time both were suffering from family issues and insecurities. Some family members believe it is a good thing he was jailed, and they will be kept apart, but others feel it was too harsh. She went off on her own free will with him. She has to take some of the blame. Yes, he was foolish — but he’s a bloke in love and wasn’t thinking straight….
“He obviously wasn’t happily married and I do feel sorry for his wife. But if he had waited till my daughter was old enough and had left school, there wouldn’t have been all this trouble.”
A family source then adds:
“…everyone is just hoping things will die down and they are all looking forward to spending some normal family time.”
Wanting it to die down is why, erm, her dad has been talking to the Press.
The Sun says the girl write to Forrest’s mum and dad:
“Dear Julie and Jim, I’m fully aware that I should not be getting in contact with you, but I couldn’t stop myself — there are a few things I want to say and clarify. I think you should know that my feelings toward Jeremy have been made very clear to my mum, and as much as she tries, she cannot change this. There’s been a bit of controversy online, with me being portrayed in the wrong light, and I hope you know what’s true and not true.
“I was not in control of what other people were saying. I have had to take it and watch my reputation being tarnished. I’m writing to apologise for any upset I have caused.
“On a more serious note I want to say thank you for showing your support and genuine concern in what you did for both of us in the TV appeal. It was heart-breaking to see you so upset. I understand that you were both extremely worried, but I’m sure you know also that I was not in any danger, which I have stressed countless amounts of times to various people.
“If anything I actually felt a lot safer with Jeremy in France than I have felt in my own home, school or any other familiar environments. I can’t emphasise enough how everything I feel towards Jeremy is — more than anything — serious … he is wonderful.
“I understand that when Jeremy comes home there will be things to sort out and the main concern will be making sure that Jeremy is able to cope and adjust to living in the outside world again. Obviously I now and will continue in the future to stand by him. I do believe that some things are worth fighting for. For now, though, I’m going to concentrate on working hard to get the future both me and Jeremy want and I’m preparing for college.
“Jeremy will be pleased to know I have been accepted on an A-level maths course — maybe he would find it comical as maths was my worst subject at school. Thank you for taking the time to read this — I hope it was not too intrusive.
“I don’t expect a reply.
“Take care x x ”
The Daily Mail says on its front page that this is all “disturbing“. It says:
‘Paedophile’ Jeremy Forrest’s sister reveals his disturbing plans to wed pupil he snatched when he leaves prison
Why is paedophile in invested commas?
Having heard from the girl’s father, we now hear from Forrest’s sister Carrie Hanspaul, 33:
“He’s never seemed his age,’ she said. ‘I’ve never seen him as a grown-up, even though he’s been a teacher and he took his job really seriously – but he wasn’t very good with money. He’s still very into music and all that, and it made me think he hadn’t fully grown up yet, as if he felt he was still in his early 20s rather than 30. But the girl comes across as being very mature in the way she expresses herself. She’s an intelligent mature girl.”
We are no invited to consider their mental ages. If a man has sex with a grown woman with a mental age of 10 is he paedophile? If the middle-age man says he feels like a teenager – and means it – is he innocent when having sex with an underage girl?
“Take the age gap on its own – away from her being under-age – if she was 30 and he was aged 45, there are a lot of relationships like that. I don’t see it as predatory or grooming. It’s not going to be a normal relationship as he’s in prison and she isn’t, so they’re not going to be going out or anything. Throughout this we’ve really tried to support him and not to judge him.”
The same age gap would be 20 and 5.
Referring to allegations yesterday that Forrest ‘groomed’ another schoolgirl when she was just 13 at his previous school in Kent, Mrs Hanspaul said: “In situations like this it’s inevitable that people come out of the woodwork, but what can Jeremy do to defend himself? She could have gone to the police, but she’s gone to the papers.”
The Sun reported:
Chloe Queen said he would “routinely cuddle” her and make her to stay after class for extra lessons. She described how she was also sent Christmas and birthday cards by him – signed ‘Love, Mr Forrest’ with three kisses – and was invited to his band’s gigs. Chloe, now 17, is one of a string of girls Forrest, 30, allegedly tried to groom before he ran away to France with a 15-year-old pupil last September…
Chloe, who now works in central London, said: “He would compliment me all the time and say things like ‘You’re a very pretty girl’. “He was an in-your-face kind of guy. When I was sitting down and writing stuff in class, he would lean over me, in my personal space. He didn’t do that with the other people. When I stayed behind after school for extra lessons, he would laugh and joke around. He’d tell me things about the personal lives of other members of staff and tell me about his wife.”
He sounds like a lovely chap and great husband material. If only he could make the rest of the world understand.
Photo: Julie Forrest (left), mother of Jeremy Forrest and his sister Carrie Hanspaul (right) arrive at Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex for the sentencing of the former teacher for child abduction after he “groomed” a 15-year-old girl before taking her to France.
Posted: 23rd, June 2013 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
